Uncompahgre Basin watershed sustainability initiative
By Jeff Crane, executive director of the Colorado Watershed Assembly
Watershed planning for communities within a common watershed is gaining popularity as a tool for developing consensus and collaborative projects in order to collectively address environmental impacts that can affect human health and local economies.
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The valley of the Uncompahgre River, which rises in the San Juan Mountains (background), western Colorado |
Each community within a watershed can have issues as unique as the watershed itself. The communities can differ widely in their sociopolitical and economic makeup but share a common watershed boundary that links differing stakeholder needs, and calls for understanding and cooperation.
These planning initiatives are formed by concerned citizens working cooperatively with agencies, regional water and conservation districts, community organizations, and local governments to better understand the threats to their watersheds and address myriad problems including water quality, water supply, environmental degradation, community education and outreach, recreation, agricultural diversions, water conservation, compact compliance and quality of life concerns.
The Uncompahgre Valley is no different in that respect.
From the alpine zone at the top of Red Mountain Pass above the Town of Ouray, the Uncompahgre River drains 1,110 square miles through subalpine and mid-elevation forests, into the Lower Gunnison Valley of semi-arid benchlands and shale desert before joining the Gunnison River at the City of Delta. As the river descends from the mountains, it crosses in and out of the national forest, Bureau of Land Management land, state parks, municipalities, ranch and farmland, and new development. The diversity of the river reflects the range of stakeholders within the watershed.
Historically, the region was dominated by two industries: hardrock mining and agriculture (irrigated and non-irrigated). In recent years, the region’s raw beauty, open space, and quality of life have attracted new residents, bringing new business and commerce with them.
Watershed’s population outpaces state and country
Between 2000 and 2006 the combined population of the counties within the watershed – Ouray, Montrose, and Delta – has grown 12.7 percent, compared with a 10.5 percent increase in Colorado, and 6.4 percent in the United States. The City of Montrose is the fastest-growing mini-metro, or micropolitan area, in the state and eighth among the nation’s 576 micropolitan areas, according to the U.S. Census. With rapidly increasing populations, a viable agricultural economy, popular recreational attractions, and a remnant mining community, there are growing concerns about the health and sustainability of the Uncompahgre River, its tributaries and surrounding ecosystems.
Major watershed issues within the Uncompahgre Basin include:
- Concern about the effects of elevated selenium concentrations from soils within the lower Uncompahgre Basin that are derived from Mancos Shale, which has naturally high concentrations of selenium and salts. Previously un-irrigated Mancos soils are up to 34 times higher in soluble selenium than irrigated soils.
- Expanding urban development and a continued strong agricultural community is increasing sediment, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, and organic compounds into receiving streams and groundwater from both point and nonpoint sources.
- The Gunnison Tunnel, opened in 1909, was one of the first projects completed by the Bureau of Reclamation and delivers both irrigation and domestic water from the Gunnison River to the Uncompahgre Valley, but the hydrological modifications can also affect aquatic biology and water quality.
- Hundreds of abandoned mines in the upper watershed are contributing to an unsafe level of metals into the headwaters.
- The growing population of the valley is also increasing pressures on wildlife and its habitat.
Watershed plan to forge new partnerships
The primary goal of this project is to address our need for a greater understanding of water quality, riparian habitat, and environmental issues within the Uncompahgre Basin through continued community involvement and the development of a comprehensive watershed plan. A watershed plan is being proposed to facilitate our understanding by compiling and evaluating existing environmental data in order to develop and carry out effective watershed management strategies for multiple issues. The goal is to create opportunities for new cooperative partnerships between different stakeholders and improve available resources needed to implement on-the-ground projects.
The development of this plan is the first step in a long-range plan to improve the watershed health of the valley. The initial document will be designed to be a living document and change over time as specific social, economic, and environmental circumstances change. An initial compilation of existing data and the subsequent evaluation of the watershed will lead to a proposed implementation plan that will be carried out as resources become available.
Community involvement
A series of public forums will provide information on mining, agriculture, urban development, wildlife habitat and recreation. The first forum is Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Ridgway Community Center from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., to investigate mining issues in the upper watershed. An Idarado Mining Co. representative will join local historian Don Paulson and representatives of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety to discuss the history of mining in the upper basin, the geology of the basin, the effects of mining on water quality, and the current status of reclamation in the basin.
For more information on the forums or the watershed plan for the valley, contact Jeff Crane at the Colorado Watershed Assembly at 970-872-2433 or at jeffcrane@coloradowater.org.Next Story>>